AUSTALIAN SPECIAL AIR SERVICE REGIMENT
AUSTRALIAN SPECIAL AIR SERVICE REGIMENT The Australian Special Air Service Regiment also known as the SASR, is regared as the best, most deaadly and the most elite special operations units in the world. COMBAT ROLES War Fighting War Fighting is the predominant role of the SASR, this focuses on many aspects of unconventional warfare. The unit may be tasked with, Advanced Force Operations, Assualt, Offensives, Strike, Raids, Sabotage, Close Quater Battles and Protective Security Details. Counter Terrorism The SASR is the premier Counter Terriorism and Recovery force relied upon by Government in the event of a hostage situation, eliminiating terrorist cells or intevening in terrorist attacks. All members are qualified to be employed as a counter terrorism operator/assaulter within the Tactical Assualt Group West also known as (TAG West). TAG West primary task is with the recovery and rescue of hostages from enemy contested situations. The Sabre Squadron on CT Duties is tasked in domestic and international direct action on and hostage rescue missions by Sea, Air and Land. Special Reconiassance The reconiassance role the SASR typically operates in small patrols which has the task of infiltrating enemy-held territory and providing intelligence on troop movements. In this role the SASR generally seeks to avoid directly engaging enemy units, though SASR soldiers will call in air and other support to destroy enemy units whenever possible. SASR reconnaissance patrols can be inserted by air, land or sea including being inserted by Submarines and have proven to have exceptional capabilities of covering large distances in jungle, desert and mountain terrains. Special Recovery Special Recovery involes SASR Operators infilrating the Area of Operations to recovery High Value Individuals or equipment These operations also include personnel rescue. Counter Insurgency OPERATIONS Vietnam War : 1st Squadron, SASR departed Vietnam on the 16th of February 1968. They were replaced by 2nd Squadron. During their tour 1st Squadron mounted 246 patrols, killed 83 VC and sighted 405 enemy. Their own casualties were one died of wounds (DOW) and one wounded (WIA). On the 21st of February 1969, 3rd Squadron SAS arrived to replace 2ndSquadron SASR who had completed their first tour. During their tour the 2 Squadron accounted for 151 VC with a further 22 possibles. 3rd Squadron SAS completed their on the 18th of January. They were replaced by 2nd Squadron SAS. During their tour 3rd Squadron had mounted 230 operations with 78 contacts resulting in 144 enemy KIA plus 32 possibles. The Squadrons withdrew from South Vietnam in 1972. Many of the men who had served in Vietnam went on to become instructors at the SAS Jungle warfare school in Malaya. : On 18th of January 1967 a Australian SAS patrol became engaged in fire fight with a large enemy group and one SASR patrol member was wounded. The patrol was extracted under fire. The injured soldier was returned to Australia for treatment, but due to complications he died. He was the first SAS and only Australian SAS to die from enemy action. : The SASR Operators had such an impact on the VC that one report stated that the VC had placed a bounty of $US 5,000 dead or alive on the head of each 'Ma Rung'. The SASR were given the name 'Ma Rung' meaning the Phantoms of the Jungle. By the end of the war the SASR had the highest number of kills and the highest Kill Death ratio the any other unit having more the 3 600 kills and having a Kill Death Ratio of 500-1. Operation Claret Africa 2010 : A secret Australian Special Forces SASR Sabre Squadron has been illegally conducting espionage operations in several African countries during the past year. The 4 Squadron of Australia’s Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) has been deployed in “dozens of secret operations” during the past 12 months, in countries such as Kenya, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. Members of 4 Squadron have been operating in both military uniforms and civilian clothing carrying forged identity papers, and with strict instructions to deny any connection with SASR if captured and were armed with modern advanced weapons system including the M4A1 Carbine. Although the existence of 4 Squadron has never been officially acknowledged, the unit is believed to have been established in 2004 or 2005, and is currently thought to be based at Swan Island in Victoria, north of the town of Queenscliff. Its initial mission was to provide armed protection to officers of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) whenever the latter are deployed in warzones or other exceptionally dangerous overseas environments. But 4 Squadron’s missions in Africa. The SASR's current mission over there is the take down terrorist cells and armed militia groups, regular assessment and evaluation of inter-African border control standards,gathering first-hand intelligence on local politics and the activities of insurgents, rescueing Australian civilians and intervening in armed conflics and local unrests. Iraq Operation Slipper Afghanistan 2001 : In October 2001 the Australian government announced that it was sending a Special Forces Task Group built around a SASR Squadron to participate in the campaign against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan during Operation Slipper. After staging through Kuwait, 1 Squadron arrived in Afghanistan in November 2001 with the other SASR squadrons rotating in at approximately six monthly intervals. The SASR's main role in Afghanistan was to conduct surveillance of Al-Qaeda and Taliban positions, though SASR Troopers also conducted a number of offensive operations. The SASR initially operated in southern Afghanistan with the US Marines before moving to eastern Afghanistan where it played an important role in Operation Anoconda. The SASR withdrew from Afghanistan in November 2002 after all three SASR squadrons had served in the country. : The SASR was re-deployed to Afghanistan in August or September 2005. The Australian Special Forces Task Group in Afghanistan consisted of elements from the SASR, 4th RAR Commando Battalion and the Incident Response Regiment. This task group was withdrawn in September 2006. A Special Operations Task Group, including SASR, was redeployed to Afghanistan in April 2007. As of 2013, the Australian SASR have an estimate of 17 200 kills in Afghanistan. : : On 2 September 2008, during the conduct of a 30 man fighting patrol, Corporal (then Trooper) Donaldson was travelling in a combined Afghan, US and Australian vehicle convoy that was engaged by a very large enemy force composing of 240 heavily armed taliban fighters. Immediately the patrol received heavy fire and sustained Casualties. An hour into the firefight an afghan interpreter was blown 80m away from the convoy by an RPG. Corpral Donaldson witness this and moved alone, on foot, across approximately 80 metres of exposed ground to recover the wounded interpreter. While carrying the interprter on his shouldar, with his spare arm Donaldson used his M4 to inflict massive casualties on the enemy. The result of the firefight left 150 taliban dead and 46 wounded, 3 US Green berets and 4 Afghans dead and 16 of the 30 patrol wounded. For his actions Corpral Mark Donaldson received the Victoria Cross the first Victoria cross awarded to an Australian since Vietnam. : : Another Victoria Cross was awarded on 23 January 2011 to Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith for single-handedly neutralising two machine-gun positions which held half a dozen taliban fighters each during an operation in Afghanistan. On 26 March 2013, it was announced that the Australian Army's Special Operations Command will receive the first Army battle honour since the end of the Vietnam War for outstanding performance during the Shah Wali Kot offensive in Afghanistan from May to June 2010. The battle honour, titled Eastern Shah Wali Kot, has been awarded in recognition of the operational actions of the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) Operation Anaconda 2002 : During the coalition offensive Operation Anaconda, the SASR known as Task Force Anvil during the Operation was tasked to provided in depth operational intelligence of all Coalition Special Forces while reinforcing U.S Army Special Forces from Task Force Hammer and Delta AFO Teams, U.S Navy Seals and DEVGRU AFO Teams. The SASR was also tasked as a Quick Reaction Force (QRF).SASR recon teams that had infiltrated into the area the previous day called in airstrikes from F-15, F16 and F,18 aircraft and saved the lives of 30 members of the 75th Ranger Regiment. During the entire Operation more then 28 500 Insurgents were killed. Operation Perth 2006 : Operation Perth was an Australian Military operation in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan that was conducted by 30 SASR Operators in July 2006. The nine day search and destroy operation occurred as part of a wider multi-national coalition operation to clear the Chora Valley, 40 kilometres north-east of Torin Kowt. Heavy fighting with Taliban insurgents resulted, and during the intense combat the Australians fought their way through the valley, clearing it in a series of synchronised and closely coordinated operations. Despite meeting stiff resistance from several hundred insurgents, the operation was ultimately successful with the Taliban sustaining heavy casualties and eventually fleeing the valley. This was one of the boodiest battles the Australian Defence Personal have participated in since Vietnam. At the end of the battle six Australians were wounded and 603 Taliban layed dead. Shah Wali Kot Offensive 2010 : This was an offensive conducted by 24 Operators of the SASR in which a number of SASR Teams were sent into the area and as a resulting of heavy fighting the Taliban recieved very high insurgent casualties, including up to 300 killed in action.The operation occurred in preparation for the coalition clearance of Kandahar and significantly disrupted a major insurgent safe haven. Two Australian soldiers and one Afghan were wounded in the action.